PATH TO POSTSEASON

Every week on the blog this football season, I'll project each UMass
game based on expectations and how it affects the Minutemen's chances
of reaching the postseason.

* A projected win (W) means - based on rankings, venue etc. The Minutemen should be considered the favorite.

* A projected loss (L) means the Minutemen would be considered the
underdog in the game, that a UMass win would be considered an upset.

* A (?) means the game is too close to call right now.

I'll adjust the projections based on UMass' performance and the performance of the opponent as the season progresses.

IN THE BOOKS - 3-1

Sept. 5 at Kansas State  LOSS 

Sept. 12 vs. Albany WIN

Sept. 19 vs. Rhode Island WIN 

Sept. 26 vs. Stony Brook WIN

Date - Opponent - (Expected result on paper)

Oct. 10 at Delaware (?) - Beating Maine doesn't really shed much light on how good Delaware is.

Oct. 17 vs. New Hampshire (?) -New Hampshire will try to take down Villanova on Saturday

Oct. 24 at Richmond (L) - Still looks like a long shot.

Oct. 31 at Maine (W) -A once promising Maine team no longer looks like a playoff squad.

Nov. 7 vs. Northeastern (W) - The Huskies are still terrible.

Nov. 14 vs. James Madison (?) -  After losing to Hofstra, the Dukes are suddenly suspect.

Nov. 21 at Hofstra (?) - The Pride is all but impossible to predict after beating JMU.

Prognosis: UMass is 3-1 with five projected wins now, two
projected losses, and four toss-ups. The Minutemen have proven capable
of beating bad teams. UMass
still has to prove itself as a good road team.

So if the Minutemen can hold serve on projected wins they'd likely
need to get at least three victories from the uncertain group or the
projected losses to get to 8-3 which would assure them a bid.

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